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Man Arrested for Fatally Shooting 50 Cent's Friend, Police Say

By  Aidan Gardiner and Gustavo Solis | February 11, 2014 8:58am | Updated on February 11, 2014 4:34pm

 Jamal Green, 42, who rapped under the name Mazaradi Fox, was shot and killed in Springfield Gardens Friday afternoon, police said.
Rapper shot dead in Queens
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QUEENS — A gunman with a long rap sheet suspected of unleashing a hail of bullets on an SUV full of people, killing a struggling rapper with ties to 50 Cent and wounding three others in broad daylight, was arrested Monday morning, police said.

A second shooter is still at large.

Jamal Scott, 35, and his unidentified accomplace unloaded their guns on a Nissan Rouge about 4 p.m. on Jan. 3 near 134th Avenue and Farmers Boulevard, hitting 42-year-old Jamal Green in the chest, the Queens District Attorney's Office said.

It was not clear if the suspect and the victim, who performed under the name Mazaradi Fox, knew each other.

Green was pronounced dead at the scene, where fficers recovered shell casings from a 9mm and a 40-caliber firearm. Two men and a woman, who were not immediately identified but were all believed to be friends of Green's, were taken to area hospitals, according to the NYPD.

One of them, a 21-year-old man, was in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital after he was shot in his neck and shoulder, police said.

A 22-year-old man was hit in the leg and a 32-year-old woman's neck was grazed, police said. The man was treated at Jamaica Hospital and the woman was taken to Long Island Jewish Hospital. Both were in stable condition after the shooting, police said.

Scott, who was arrested after he was identified in a lineup, may have been motivated by a gang-related dispute, but investigators are still looking into what sparked the shooting, a police spokesman said.

He faces charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, attempted assault and criminal possession of a loaded firearm. If convicted he faces 25 years to life in prision, according to the DA's Office.

“In another unfortunate example of the senseless gun violence that seems to more and more permeate our society, the defendant and an unapprehended other are accused of fatally shooting one victim in the chest and wounding three others as they sat helplessly inside a non-moving vehicle," District Attorney Richard Brown said. "The defendant’s alleged actions were violent and ruthless and the charges against him will be vigorously prosecuted.”

Scott has been arrested 15 times before, most recently for criminal possession of a weapon in 2005, a police spokesman said. Other past charges against him include criminal trespass, criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Green grew up in Queens and was a childhood friend of Curtis Jackson, who later became the world-famous rapper 50 Cent, according to the New York Times.

But while his friend succeeded, Green struggled. He was convicted of weapons possession in 2001 and served four years, only to be convicted of assault in 2011 and serve another two years, prison records show.

Still, 50 Cent continued to help his friend when he could. When Green's 14-year-old step-daughter, D'aja Robinson, was shot and killed on a Queens bus, 50 Cent paid for the funeral, the Times reported.

He and other performers including Nicki Minaj and Lloyd Banks posted condolences online.